Wednesday, February 8, 2012

What's in a name?

Did you know there's a very deliberate etymology to the naming conventions in Bulgaria and other Slavic countries? Typically, names use a "patronymic" that references the father's name, occupation, etc. And, a father's first name frequently becomes the middle name of his child.

Suffixes "ov" and "ev"for males and "ova" and "eva" for females are often added to Bulgarian surnames, so the daughter of someone named Petrov might have the surname Petrova. If you examine Bulgarian family trees, you'll usually find that the names morph over time as each generation is born.

Just something to think about as you head out to work with 27 Jennifers.

No comments:

Post a Comment